Greta Thunberg on the environment and being on the Autism spectrum

But how can they talk to government if they have yet to give us any evidence that it is something that they have thought through themselves and have a carefully peer reviewed technical and inplementation policy of their own.

Monica that's exactly what XR want to talk with the government about.

It doesn't stop when they put the placards down.

I am not going to pretend that I wear any kind of hair shirt. I do not. I do my best where I can but on other fronts I do not.

But what frustrates me is the refusal of government to really publish a policy document on how we can meet the targets we have set ourselves. Showing how they intend to replace all hydrocarbon fuelled power plants by 2050, or is it 40? To lay out forecasts about how much more emission free power we will need if we run the economy on electricity.

Discuss how to have a national insulation programme. how to fund it and implement it. How to effectively heat houses without using gas.

But going on about the domestic market is fine. How are we going to reduce energy consumption in industry. What fuel will we use in lorries, trucks, vans and even larger cars that tow caravans, motor homes and the like. Batteries capable of moving a lorry from Southampton to Birmingham would be bigger than the lorry itself.

There are many technologies out there but their development and utilisation is unplanned and incoherent. It is government's job to make sense of it.

I am filled with admiration for the likes of MOnica and Fiachna for what they do personally to live a simpler more thoughtful lifestyle. Presumably your DC and DGC are following suit?

I'm ashamed to say that yesterday the buses were running so late due to the climate protests that we got in our car. Bit ironic.
I am grateful for Greta . She has woken up a lot of young people who in turn will put pressure on the adults, one can only hope.

I feel really pleased when the children get involved and my DGS and his cousin are both involved in eco solutions. Yay!!

Lois, most people wont walk the length of themselves. We have a corner shop where I live. Its a ten minute walk from my street. Folk from my street drive there to get a milk and paper. I kid you not.

FWIW I do agree that the world needs to be cleaner and we need t stop exploiting resources. I have said it before on this and other threads. I am trying to get clarification on what people actually want 'the government' to do. and I am also wondering if individuals would be happy if they were told that some activities were no longer permissible ; for example would they all forego long haul flights? And all of the other things I listed above?

If not why not?

Is it a question of saying 'the government should act ' and then thinking 'job done' ?

And I did wonder how many had travelled to the demos by car.

Monica, I totally get what you mean. The protests are over, what happens now?

There is just so much crap on this thread it's not worth bothering with.

I guess either you get it, or you don't.

Either you care, or you don't?

I'm sure that there are loads of other things that could be done but truthfully does anyone think that the vast majority of young people would do that?

Well, I know one. And now his brother's joining him.

And I don't know whether to despair or be proud.

It's not an easy course they're setting themselves on.

I can't be sure, but from what I read on GN I'm the only person who lived off grid for 20 years.
So I know about energy and water consumption. We still live by the same attitude towards energy and water as we did then,
LED bulbs everywhere, good insulation etc.

The problem is most people believe it’s the government,establishment,authority’s responsibility to do things and they don’t really need to bother with the ‘little’ things, Loislovesstewie.

Which is why they turned out yesterday in their cars with their plastic bottles taking selfies on their mobiles. ‘Plus ca change’ as they say.

These efforts are all very worthy and I too do my own puny little bit, but change has to be at a global level. WW2 is spot on.

There are solutions but these would not suit those who just want short term gain. Their profits,

OK. So to save the world we should;
Give up mobile phones.
Only replace technology when it has absolutely worm out.
Not buy new clothes until they too are worn out.
Not take trips to exotic climes unless by means of walking, cycling, or other non-polluting travel.
Stop using gas to heat our homes; either live without central heating and put on a jumper or heat only one room by renewable energy.
Stop having children or have far fewer .
Recycle everything.
grow our own fruit/vegetables.
Stop importing fruit and vegetables from Africa/Asia so we aren't using air travel to get them here.
Only eat food which is produced locally.
I'm sure that there loads of other things that could be done but truthfully does anyone think that the vast majority of young people would do that?
I have met so many who do exactly the opposite and think nothing of it. They go on holiday to Thailand/Cambodia/ Vietnam as easily as I would go to Scarborough. They wouldn't want to give up eating exotic foods from far flung places and disdain wearing clothes until the clothes are no more.
I think if many of them actually thought about what it would involve then they would not be so happy to take to the streets.

;

monica they don’t need a coherent strategy.

The scientists have been providing that for years.

They have been ignored by those intent on continued profit.

The young want a world worth living in. Is that too much to ask that they demand those with the power in this world listen to the scientists?

Anja I have been doing a lot for a very long time on this issue. But going on what is being shown on the media - and attending a demonstration only tells you about one demonstration, not all, I think much of the thinking behind these demonstrations strikes me as vacuous.

The simplest way to meet the calls being made at these demonstrations is to turn all our gas and bio mass power stations off immediately, let us see how we manage. Currently, on a windy day, like today, wind power is meeting a third of our power demand, yesterday it was 20%, the day before 3%.

If you are going to demonstrate for something like this, you need a coherent set of suggestions about how to achieve your goal. I have yet to see a single policy document or anything similar from Greta Thunberg and her (adult) supporters.

Greta Thunberg is an amazing young woman. She deserves our respect and not to be condemned or patronised as too many on here have done.

Of course she is attracting much negative publicity and a lot of this is spread but those whose profits and working practices she threatens. Big business is putting out misinformation about her and this is being read and digested by the gullible.

The young people I saw were not on a ‘jolly’ as you put it Monica. What a judgemental comment and I bet you didn’t even go along to a protest to judge for yourself. Keep lapping up this sort of propaganda if it makes you feel better about not doing anything to help.

Remeber the famous quote thar if you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem.

Yes, Fiachna, I could say 'tick' to almost everything you mention. Our house was built in 1467, so no cavities to fill and as the house is Listed, no solar panels, although we are investigating whether we could have them installed in the garden.

I am afraid I too have been cynical about this movement and I am concerned about its exploitation of a child with ASD, she may make the transition like Malala Yousafzai, but I doubt it. Malalla's cause was education for women and has always put her education before her campaigning work and always

My other concern is the mindlessness of most of the demonstrationss. There seems to be no talk or understanding of the problems facing the world in reducing emissions. No understanding of the science and research going on, or the problems. For example, none of those interviewed ever seem to have ever thought or have any understanding about where our energy will come from in the future. How difficult it is to provide continuous power from renewable resources. The amount of research going on and the amount of progress that has already been made.

I think for many of the children it was an opportunity to have a day off school and go off on a jolly with their friends.

well she is truly inspirational and is what is needed now. Just when there are dreadfully shallow people like Trump and Johnson in power, there she is; young, female, honest and true, a breath of fresh air.
I applaud follow and thank her in these otherwise heartless shallow greedy misogynistic times. She has given young people a voice. Look at the climate change action in cities all over the world yesterday. She has truly liberated them and without a sense of wanting power for herself. And such a good role model for girls. No pouting or posing, such a relief. Please for all our good and future let's celebrate her mission and listen and applaud her.
It is well known that some of the effects of autism/Aspergers syndrome can be an exceptional power of concentration and focus. There is nothing to denigrate there that is just what is needed.

Individuals doing their bit is important but it’s governments and businesses that have to wake up to the bigger picture and take action now. Maybe these protests will wake them up. Clean air, clean waterways, protection of wild life, halting emissions all have to be done cooperatively by governments working together. We are not doing enough on a large scale.

I cant tell you for how long Monica as some of the things we do have been in about the last 10-20 years. But here goes: have solar panels, loft insulation,cavity wall insulation, a special plug on our fridge freezer that reduces electricity use. I grow some of my own food, veg and potatoes. We have LED lights in our home. I have an eco kettle and A rated white goods in our home. We recycle garden waste, food waste, batteries,plastic,paper ,cardboard and some food cartons. I replaced handwash dispensers with bar soap. When I go out I take a reusable coffee cup and a refillable water bottle. I use eco friendly wash up liquid and cleaning products. I have tin foil behind my radiators and turn down thermostats when I can. We holiday in the UK only but by car. Have holidayed abroad but rarely. I only buy shoes or clothes when I need them. We switch off lights when we leave the room and close our curtains at dusk. We bought double glazed windows and doors for the whole house about 8 years ago. We have a vegetarian meal once or twice a week. We also have an eco boiler for heating and hot water. We do try.

I was an early adopter of concern about Global warming and in 2000 I set out to reduce our home energy consumption by 50%, which I achieved in 2010. We have had LED bulbs throughout for well over a decade, again we were early adopters.

For the last 5 years we have had holidays on the near continent travelling by train rather than flying. Nearly all our furniture is second hand so made of wood and probably made by hand so emission free from the start.

As I said we have been actively concerned about global warning and making as many changes as practical for over 20 years. When out after dark, I despair of the number of houses with curtains not drawn, even windows open, when it is clear that their heating is working over time.

If everyone made sure their houses were as well insulated as possible and lived them in an energy conscious manner, a lot of energy could be saved.

What do you do and for how long?

Lois I agree with you. However, don't expect anyone here to appreciate your point of view. They are all carried away with the situation. I think when Greta comes down to earth it will be with a bang. I just hope she will cope when she is no longer famous. Good luck with what she is trying to do, but I personally think she is being manipulated.

I hope that the comments about Greta being obsessed weren't about me? I suspect that they are . As i have said being obsessed about a topic is typical of someone with an ASD and I am genuinely concerned about her mental health if things go wrong. I am sorry if you cannot accept that .

Oh dear

Well if we expect the young to give up Smartphones, holiday flights etc I think they wont. Im not saying all young people are the same but I know some who think these protests are great because they are allowed to skive. I have actually heard this said. As for the poster who was talking about the girl Malala, education is going to be wasted if they are all taking days of school going on climate protests. So , if education to the young is so important, why arent they doing this on the school holidays or at weekends? Why did Greta need a year off school? Can she not protest in Sweden?